Manufacture of motor fuel



NOV. 13, 1934. BURK r 1,980,380

MANUFACTURE OF MOTOR FUEL Filed Feb. 13, 1930 RECYCLE LINE FRACTION- ATOK lZ v CON- DENSI-K Fulzuacs.

1N VEN TORS E0504 Bu rt IJ By Herman: Plea-Eeima A TTORNEYSU Patented Nov. 13, 1934 UNITE-D STATES ENT; F CE MANUFACTURE OF MOTOR FUEL Robert E. Burk and Herman P. Lankelma, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to The Standard Oil- Company, Cleveland, Ohio Ohio, a corporation of Application February is, 1930, Serial No. 428,133

6 Claims. (01. 196-110) comes possible toconvert such waste product into i useful motor fuel, etc., and in a manner readily applicable in connection with present refinery establishments.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing andi I tion. a

- In the average refinery, the gas from the crude stills and that from cracking operations is generally conducted to a common point of mixing and-distribution to-usage. Such mixed gas, or. either that from distillation or thatfrom cracking may be employed in the practiceof the.

present invention. A gas from distillation differs from that from a cracking operation chiefly in the lesser amounts of hydrogen, carbon monoxide,'oxygen, and unsaturates; and vin any case it is understood that the gas has been jstripp'ed 'of all condensable hydrocarbons,..by approved methods of condensation, absorption, etc. For example, an analysis of ages from a cracking 4o coil operation may show 6.9 per cent. total uns'aturates, 0.5 per cent. of oxygen, 0.4 per cent. of

carbon monoxide 0.2 per cent. of carbon dioxide,

. 1.8 per cent. of hydrogen, and the remainder made up of methane, ethane. propane, butane, 45. pantane, and iso-compounds.

. In its-general aspects, the invention contemplates operation with such a gas, from straight run or cracking equipment, or mixed, the gasbeing subiected to the action of heat, and conditions to synthesize higher molecular .weight hydrocarbons. Analytic catalysts or contact surfaces tending to a breakdown to carbon and hydrogen are avoided: v with a source of dry gas, that is, a gas con-- taining mixed hydrocarbons from which those 'ing,the passages need not be long. In the illusfield of high voltage, for instance 10,000-50,000

condensable have been removed, a compressor may be employed if desired to bring up the pressure, this however being not strictly essential, but rather a matter of efiicient throughput. The gas is then passed to a heating zone. Preferably a preheater is employed, to bring the temperature up almost to the treating temperature. For instance, a preheat of 900 or 1000" F. may be applied. The gas is then forwarded to the reaction zone. A convenient arrangement is illustrated in the drawing herewith, in which the gas stream is forwarded through a line 2 from a suitable source to a compressor 3 and a preheater 4, whence it proceeds to a header box 5 or inlet header. A bank of passageways 7 isarranged between such inlet header 5 and sub-headers 6 and outlet header 6, the passages being of tubularor other suitable form, and preferably of small diametra l section, in order to increase the heating surface. In'the surface material of such passages, iron should be avoided, and in fact the common metals generally. Instead, such surface material should be of a mineral composition, and preferably an oxygen-containingcomposition, alundum (A1203), sillimanite (Ala(SiO2)3) silica, silicates, porcelaimetc. Such material may be made up in solid form to provide thewalls, or if desired it may be .employed as a lining merely. With suitable construction and provision for firtration, heating provision is shownas a furnace 8 with the passages '7 exposedon the way to the outlet flue S. a

Preferably, the outlet of the passages from the subheaders is narrower choked by a filler element 9, which may form the mantle or coverfor such pyrometers'lo as may be desired. By choking the outlet from the tubes to such extent, a drop in pressure to the outlet header is had, facilitating quick cooling by expansion.

From theoutlet header the products proceed toa condenser system, including a partial condenser 11 and a fractionator 12. The partial condenser may be of any desired form, water-immersed. coils or more elaborate in construction, and the fractionator may be of bell cap plate type, or the like. Desirably, the products from the 'outlet header are also subjected toan electric.

volts,a multiple surface-electrode 13 or a plurality of electrodes being suitably insulatively mounted in the connection betweenthe outlet heade'rand the partial condenser element. Such 4 connection may take the formof a chamber 14,

preferably with a drain bottom and a valve-oonand be recycled through the reaction zone.

As indicated, operations may be carried on with or without pressure. If some pressure be applied a better throughput can be had however. For instance the compressor may be operated at about 100 pounds.

With a treating temperature of 18002000 F., preferably about 1925", and a suitable flow rate, the actual heating time is short. For instance, with a flow rate providing a heating time of 0.1-

1.0, preferably 0.2-0.5 seconds, a yield of con-, densate may be had in the condenser system showing an initial boiling point of 158 F., and

- fractionating with elimination of tarry constituents, to yield 53 per cent. in the boiling point range of motor fuel. This consists of aromatics and aliphatic compounds, benzol being in large proportion. Above the motor fuel range, a fraction of naphthalene may be had, and anthracene, besides a final polymerized mass of resinoid type, suitable for electrical insulation usages. Variation of the temperature will somewhat vary the relative amounts of the respective products, lower temperatures yielding higher proportions of aromatics, while very high temperatures largely determine yields to polymer forms. The motor fuel thus obtained may be employed as such, or

' preferably may be blended with customary gasoline stocks as desired.

In the event of carbon deposit in the passages of the reaction zone, the gas supply may be cut off, as by the control valve 18, and carbon dioxide may be introduced through supply pipe 19, the carbon being removed in accordance with the equation C+CO2=2CO. Or preferably, steam may be introduced, as by steam supply pipe 20, the carbon then being removed by water-gas formation. Or, the temperature may be lowered and hydrogen may be introduced through supply pipe, 19, the carbon being removed as methane. For such a purging, the offtake-connection may be closed by a valve at 21, and the scavenger outlet 22 may be opened. On resumption, the scavenger outlet may be closed and the valve 21 be opened,

with supply of gas from valve 18 as before.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made .as regards the details described, provided the means stated in any of the following claims, or the equivalent of such, be employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:-

1. Apparatus of the character described, which comprises a heating chamber, a plurality of vertical conduits therein, inlet and outlet headers connected to the respective ends of said conduits, fixed choke means leaving a substantially annular restricted passage in the bore of the outlet header, and a condenser in communication with said outlet header.

2. Apparatus of the character described, which comprises a heating chamber, a plurality of vertical conduits therein, inlet and outlet headers connected to the respective ends of said conduits, means in common for choking the outlet of the outlet header and for indicating the temperature therein, and a condenser in communication with said outlet header.

3. Apparatus of the character described, which comprises a heating chamber, a plurality of vertical conduits therein, an inlet header at the lower end of said conduits, outlet sub-headers at the upper ends of groups of said conduits, a further outlet header connecting said subheaders, fixed choke means, leaving a substantially annular restricted passage, between the sub-headers and said further outlet header, and a condenser in communication with said outlet header.

4. Apparatus of the character described, which comprises a heating chamber, a plurality of groups of vertical conduits therein, an inlet header at the lower end of said conduits, outlet sub-headers at the upper ends of groups of said conduits, a further outlet header connecting said sub-headers, means in common for choking the outlets of said sub-headers and for indicating the temperature therein, and a condenser in communication with said outlet header.

5. Apparatus of the character described, which comprises a heating chamber, a plurality of groups of vertical conduits therein, an inlet header at the lower end of said conduits, outlet sub-headers at the upper end of groups of said conduits, a further outlet header connecting said sub-header, choke means between the subheaders and said further outlet header including pyrometer-covers and pyrometers therein, and a condenser in communication with said outlet header.

6. Apparatus of the character described, which comprises a heating chamber, a plurality of groups of vertical conduits therein, an inlet header at the lower end of said conduits, outlet sub-headers at the upper end of groups of said conduits, a further outlet header connecting said sub-header, choke means between the subheaders and said further outlet header including pyrometer-covers and pyrometers therein, a connection for introducing relatively cool gas beyond said outlet header, and a condenser to receive the mingled products thereof.

ROBERT E. BURK. HERMAN P. LANKELMA. 

